Pivotally and slidably mounted outer jaw wrench



March 16, 1948. ANDERSEN' 2,437,801

PIVOTALLY AND SLIDABLY'MOUNTED OUTER JAW WRENCH Filed Sept. 4, 1945 INVENTOR. 72m: KA/mns I ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 16, 1948 ED STATES PATENT OFFICE PIVOTALLY AND SLIDABLY MOUNTED I OUTER JAW WRENCH This invention relates to adjustable jaw wrenches of the general type disclosed in my prior application, Serial Number 604,260, filed July 10, 1945, but difi'ering therefrom in that the movable jaw of the wrench is part of a head which is both slidable and tiltable relative to the fixed jaw of the wrench which is part of the wrench handle or shank.

In accordance with my present invention, I construct the handle as a hollow member, and mount within the upper end thereof a head which is both slidable and tiltable with respect to the handle. The upper end of the handle and the upper end of the head are provided with oppositely disposed jaws, and the head is locked relative to the handle by means of a toothed dog which is pivoted within the handle and is normally urged into engagement with a series of teeth on the front edge of the head by means of a blade or other spring.

For releasing the dog, I provide a thumb-operated yoke. This is fastened at its upper end to the head and terminates near its lower end in a cross-bar provided with a thumb-button exposed through a slot in the back edge of the handle. When the handle is gripped in the hand, the thumb naturally and inevitably presses against the thumb-button. When this button is pressed inwardly, the dog is disengaged from the head teeth, and the head may he slid upwardly or downwardly, as the case may be, by the pressure of the thumb in the proper direction on said button. When the head is properly adjusted, the inward pressure on the thumb-buttonis relieved and the dog-spring automatically returns the dog into engagement with the head teeth thereby to lock the parts in their adjusted position.

Thus, my wrench is capable of one-handed operation both in adjusting it to the work and inmanipulating it on the work.

In the accompanying drawing wherein I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention.

Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section of a wrench in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a back edge View thereof.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1, and

Figures 4 and 5 are detail views showing in both plan and side elevation the dog-actuating yoke.

My wrench comprises a handle or shank III which is hollow or tubular at its upper end at least, being preferably U-shaped in cross section.

Rigidly fastened as at II between the sides of handle III at the upper end thereof is a horizontally disposed fixed jaw I2.

Pivoted at l3 between the sides of handle I beneath fixed jaw I2 is a locking dog I4 having on its back edge a short series of teeth I for coaction with a long series of teeth IE on the 2 Claims. (Cl. 81-100) 2 front edge of a slidable and tiltable head I! of the wrench.

Dog I4 is normally urged into engagement with teeth l5 by means of a curved blade spring I8 fastened at one end as at l9 to the under surface of jaw l2 and bearing at its free end against the back of the dog.

Fixed to dog I4 is a cross pin 20, the ends of which extend slightly beyond the side edges of the dog.

Head I'I slides axially within the upper open end of handle I0 and terminates at its upper end in a horizontal jaw 2| disposed opposite to fixed J'aw I2.

Fastened as at 22 to the head I! near its upper end is a U-shaped yoke for actuating dog I4. This yoke comprises a pair of parallel arms 23 extending for a substantial distance along the sides of the head and terminating near their lower ends in a cross-bar 24 straddling the back surface of head I'I. Cross bar 24 is provided with a knurled or otherwise suitably roughened thumb rest 25 which is exposed at the back of the wrench through a longitudinal slot 26.

The operation is as follows:

The wrench handle is grasped in the hand with the thumb bearing upon thumb rest 25. Pressure of the thumb laterally inwardly against said thumb rest rocks head I! laterally against the action of spring I8. This disengages head teeth Hi from dog teeth I5 so that head I! may be slid upwardly or downwardly relative to the handle until jaws 2| and I2 are properly spaced with reference to the pipe, nut or other piece of work to be gripped. In this action the lateral pressure of the thumb on thumb rest 24 is maintained and at the same time thumb pressure in an upward or downward direction, as the case may be, is applied to the thumb rest to slide the head in the desired direction.

In this action the extended ends of cross pin 20 of the dog I4 ride along the front edges of yoke arms 23 as bearings.

When the lateral pressure is discontinued, spring I8 automatically returns dog I4 into engagement with the teeth I6 of the head, thus locking the parts in their adjusted position.

As will be apparent both the adjustment and manipulation of my wrench can be readily accomplished with one hand. The location of thumb rest 24 at the back of the wrench insures that the thumb of the hand which grasps the wrench to manipulate it will naturally and inevitably bear against the thumb-rest. Inasmuch as the thumb-rest protrudes through slot 26 a substantial distance, it can be easily pushed by the thumb in either an upward or a downward direction, as well as towards the front.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, I recognize that 3 various changes in its construction and design may be made without departing from the principles of my invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wrench comprising a hollow handle hav-' ing a jaw at its upper end, a head slidable through the upper end of said handle and tiltable laterally with respect thereto, said head having at its upper end a jaw for coaction with said han dle jaw and having a series of teeth along its front edge, a dog pivoted to said handle and having a series of teeth along its back edge for coaction with said head teeth, a spring normally urgin the dog teeth into engagement with the head teeth, and a yoke engageable with the dog whereby to disengage the dog from the rack teeth on the head, the arms of which straddle the sides of said head and are fastened at their upper ends thereto, the cross-bar of said yoke being exposed at the back of said handle and constituting a thumb-bearing portion to receive the pressure of REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 735,289 Peterson Aug. 4, 1903 1,117,574 Holmes Nov. 17, 1914 1,245,581 Gniewcrynski Nov. 6. 1917 1,404,665 Stansill Jan. 24, 1922 1,872,710 Ersland Aug. 23, 1932 2,089,589 Uvaney Aug. 10, 1937 

